Hyderabad:Irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Wednesday said the Telangana High Court verdict in the case related to pleas questioning the Justice P.C. Ghose commission of inquiry report “did not give anyone any clean chit”.
The minister also said today’s judgment does not preclude the CBI from taking up an investigation into matters related to the Kaleshwaram project and Medigadda barrage, as already sought by the Telangana government.
“In fact, last September, the government, after a detailed discussion on the Justice Ghose report in the Assembly, had made it clear that it would not take any action based on the judicial commission’s report. We had said right then that we are asking the CBI to investigate, and we hope this will happen,” Uttam Kumar Reddy said. The CBI, he added, has with it copies of the judicial commission, the vigilance, and NDSA reports on Medigadda, enough for it to start its investigations.
The government, he said, will decide on its next course of action once it examines the full judgment. Uttam Kumar Reddy made it clear that the court orders related to a plea seeking the quashing of Government Order No.6 setting up the Justice P.C. Ghosh Commission. The High Court did not find fault with the commission’s setting up or its findings. It was also clear on stating that the commission’s appointment was neither arbitrary, illegal, nor ultra vires.
The minister said the High Court raised objections on certain determinations made against individuals in the commission’s report, pointing out that notices were not issued to them in the prescribed format. “And the relief granted to the petitioners was limited to stating that no action should be taken against them solely based on the judicial commission’s report. This does not mean anyone got a clean chit,” Uttam Kumar Reddy said.
Uttam Kumar Reddy said the barrages were built and collapsed during the BRS rule. In fact, the barrages sprang leaks soon after their inauguration, and even NDSA’s first report was sent to the government during the BRS rule. “Our government is duty-bound to hold accountable anyone who is found responsible for the colossal loss to the state about the Kaleshwaram project. The Kaleshwaram project is the biggest man-made disaster in the country. Precious public money has been wasted,” the irrigation minister said.
On the BRS’ claims that only two piers in one block of the Medigadda barrage were damaged, Uttam Kumar Reddy said experts from reputed national institutions have already “opined that not just two piers, but the entire foundations of all three barrages were in a questionable state.”
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